Will Forte

Will Forte may have left behind his eight-year gig at “Saturday Night Live,” but he’s still managing to keep his show-biz plate very full.

The Lafayette native makes a guest appearance on the new NBC comedy, “Up All Night” (8 p.m. tonight), where he plays a very cool dad and “Zen surfer” named Reed who offers some offbeat advice to Chris (Will Arnett), who has been concerned about his lackluster, post-pregnancy love life with Reagan (Christina Applegate).

“It’s very new-agey advice. It’s all advice that I would give also, you know,” Forte told journalists on a conference call this week. “It all seemed like perfectly reasonable advice to me. … I feel like he’s trying to get in the mind of women and see (things) through their eyes. … But I don’t know, ultimately can any man really understand the perspective of a woman?”

Meanwhile, Forte might not be the best person to issue much in the way of parental advice.

“I don’t have a kid. I’m 41 years old and still no kids. I’m driving my mom crazy,” Forte said.

Even before he left “SNL,” Forte had established himself as a standout guest star on several network sitcoms, including “Parks and Recreation,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and most notably, as Jenna’s hilarious cross-dressing lover on “30 Rock.” For his role on “Up All Night,” he said he tried hard not to avoid doing a “Spicoli rip-off,” referring to Sean Penn’s famous doper/slacker in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

In addition to his TV roles, Forte continues to land movie parts. He recently finished shooting “I Hate You Dad” with Adam Sandler. And next week, he begins production in Atlanta on “Neighborhood Watch,” with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill.

Incidentally, tonight’s episode of “Up All Night” will carry some additional East Bay flavor. Also dropping by for a guest stint is Jorma Taccone, the Berkeley-bred member of the Lonely Island comedy trio and writer for “SNL.”

Say good-bye to MacGruber. The New York Times is reporting that Lafayette native and Acalanes High School grad Will Forte has decided to depart “Saturday Night Live” and will not be among the cast this coming season.

In an e-mail message, a representative for Forte said he offered his thanks to his colleagues at “SNL” and producer Lorne Michaels, writing, “After eight great seasons, Will has made the the decision to move on from “SNL” to pursue new opportunities. He is eternally grateful to Lorne and all the incredible people he worked with over the years.”

On the surface, at least, it’s a rather curious decision. “SNL” offered Forte weekly television exposure and a dose of fame. And it’s not like his movie career is flying high (“MacGruber” sputtered this summer). In interviews I’ve had with Will, he has often talked about wanting to stay with “SNL” for several more years “if they’ll have me.” But lately he has gotten a lot of guest work on TV (including “30 Rock”) and I know he has several writing projects in the works. We’ll try to catch up with him when the dust settles.

In the meantime, will you miss Fortel on “SNL” — or was it time for him to go? What suggestions would you make to make “SNL” funnier?

Did you happen to catch “SNL” vet Will Forte dressed up as a chick (again) on “30 Rock” last night. As “MacGruber” director Jorma Taccone recently told us, Forte will do anything for a joke.

And he’s been doing it for a while now. Although Forte has been on “Saturday Night Live” for eight years, he isn’t exactly a household name. So to suddenly see him in a barrage of “MacGruber” TV ads and plastered on giant billboards is kind of mind-blowing for the unassuming comedian.

But Forte, a Bay Area homeboy, is one of the true “nice guys” we’ve met in show biz over the years. That’s why we’re wishing him the best with “MacGruber.” To check out our recent interview with Forte, click here.

It’s the role Tina Fey was born to play. We just didn’t know it until about two weeks ago.

When Alaska governor Sarah Palin became John McCain’s surprise running mate, the comparisions to Tina Fey — Those glasses! The hair! — began almost immediately. And then came the inevitable talk of Fey impersonating Palin on “Saturday Night Live” — talk that “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels coyly downplayed.

And so, all eyes were on “SNL” last night to see if Fey would, indeed, show up — and of course she did. Clad in a bright red blazer (and those glasses, of course), Fey appeared in a hysterical opening sketch with her pal, Amy Poehler, playing Hillary Clinton.

The set-up? A joint press conference to decry sexism in politics. But it also served to illustrate the deep divisions between Palin and Clinton when it comes to personality, ambition, and, especially, ideology:

Clinton: I believe that diplomacy should be cornerstone of any foreign policy.
Palin: And I can see Russia from my house!
Clinton: I believe global warming is caused by man.
Palin: And I believe it’s just God huggin’ us closer.
Clinton: I don’t agree with the Bush Doctrine.
Palin: I don’t know what that is.

The line about Russia, inspired by Charles Gibson’s interview with Palin, drew one of the biggest laughs of the night.

So how did Fey do? Well, she basically nailed it. You knew the look would be no problem, but she also really got down Palin’s “Fargo”-like accent and the voice inflections and general mannerisms.

Unfortunately, nothihng that followed on the show could come close to matching that opening sketch (Although we give kudos to Lafayette’s Will Forte, who was hilarious as a goofy dancing swim coach). Olympic champ Michael Phelps, as one might expect, was a servicable, but ratherless colorless host. It’s important to remember than none of those eight gold medals were for excellence in comedy.

Anyway, here’s hoping that wasn’t the last we’ve seen of Fey as Palin. “SNL” will be doing a handful of Thursday-night specials on NBC leading up to the election (And Fey’s “30 Rock” doesn’t return until Oct. 30). For a full transcript of the Palin-Clinton skit, Continue Reading →